Ronnie O'Sullivan claims referee is 'looking for trouble' after two early disagreements in the World Championship final

By Chris Hammer

Snooker

Mon May 02, 2022 · 3y ago

Ronnie O'Sullivan claimed referee Olivier Marteel was "looking for trouble" after being embroiled in two heated moments during the first session of the World Championship final.

The first bizarre moment occurred at the start of the third frame after O'Sullivan, who is bidding to equal Stephen Hendry's record of seven Crucible titles, had fouled by missing a red to the edge of the pack when attempting a safety.

"He just seems to be looking for trouble, I get that vibe from the guy".

Ronnie O'Sullivan explaining that heated moment with referee Olivier Marteel pic.twitter.com/uHiuC1Vzp9
— Chris Hammer (@ChrisHammer180) May 1, 2022

Trump asked the cueball to be replaced but there was a five-minute debate between the Rocket and referee Olivier Marteel about its positioning, while Trump was also called to the table to offer his opinion.

Marteel was beginning to get frustrated about O'Sullivan's claims he couldn't see the edge of the red ball he wanted to hit but laughter broke out when he then offered him the cue to have a try.

Eventually they agreed and it turned out to up being a highly dramatic frame, with O'Sullivan pinching it on a respotted black.

Ronnie O'Sullivan asking the ref to have a go 😂 pic.twitter.com/zcWwOBlC2g
— Chris Hammer (@ChrisHammer180) May 1, 2022

However, in the final frame of the session the pair were embroiled in another more heated moment when Marteel issued O'Sullivan with a warning for a gesture he made following a foul.

The Rocket reacted furiously and even Trump told the referee that he could have waited until after the session.

Referee Olivier Marteel has words with Ronnie O'Sullivan but Judd Trump tells him he could have waited until after the session. pic.twitter.com/HNvCHE4jtq
— Chris Hammer (@ChrisHammer180) May 1, 2022

O’Sullivan: “What did you see?”

Referee: “I saw it.”

O’Sullivan: “Come on, what did you see?”

Referee: “I’m not going to say it on TV.”

O’Sullivan: “You tell me what you saw. You saw nothing. Go and look at the camera. You saw nothing.”

O’Sullivan, pointing at the referee: “Don’t start.”

Referee, walking away: “I’m not.”

O’Sullivan: “Go and check the camera.”

In a post-session interview with Eurosport’s Rachel Casey, O’Sullivan said: “I think he just seems to be looking for trouble. I just get a vibe from the guy.

“They’ve got hundreds of cameras out there, they can go and check them all, slow motion them down.

“He’s trying to say… I’ll let the ref talk to you but I’m not going to have any of it because I think he’s just trying to create something. He needs to deal with that, not me.”